First Quarter 2020

Hello! I delayed posting this blog by one month so I could write about the developing pandemic and the effect it has had on my work and the legal community here as it is happening. On the day I am posting this blog entry, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the beginning phases of reopening the state last night, including reopening retail stores and restaurants starting on Monday with restrictions on occupancy and social distancing. The Stay-at-Home Order that has been in effect for the past month has had us doing business a little differently here at the office. We have been meeting with clients via Zoom rather than in person, which has certainly been interesting in its own way. I’m definitely grateful for the ability to do meetings and consultations via Zoom, because it video calls are much more personable than telephone calls. What has affected our work the most with the pandemic is the fact that all of the courthouses here have been closed and it seems that they will be until June. All of our case management conferences, docket soundings, and almost all of our hearings for the past month or so have been canceled. In the last week or two, we have gotten the opportunity to do a few telephonic and Zoom hearings for cases, which has helped the cases stay on track a bit better (as the pandemic has delayed almost all cases by a few months).

Coronavirus discussion aside, I’ve officially been licensed as an attorney for over six months! I cannot believe how fast the last six months have gone. For the most part, I have been doing relatively the same tasks for the last three months that I was doing at the end of 2019. One of the most exciting things I’ve done in the first three months of this year was attending a CLE (Continuing Legal Education) course in Fort Walton Beach. The course was called Parenting Plans: From Start to Finish, and there were many esteemed speakers there teaching about topics ranging from constructing a parenting plan, to relocation (moving), investigations by mental health professionals, and cybersecurity. (You may be wondering why I went to a CLE course that was almost seven hours away, but it worked out because my best friend lives in Santa Rosa County.) In addition to the CLE course, I have also continued doing Case Management Conferences and Docket Soundings (before the courthouse closures due to the pandemic). I’ve met with clients to go over facts of their cases with them and get the information needed to proceed with the case.  I have sat in on consultations with potential new clients in order to learn the process and see how they are carried out. I continue to learn more about this job and about the practice of law in general every day (like I know I will continue to do for the rest of my career and my life). 

I do feel for my colleagues in their last year of law school right now that are graduating now in such uncertain times, not being able to have a graduation ceremony, and even worse not yet knowing what is becoming of the Florida Bar Exam this summer. Having been a lawyer for less than a year and already seeing something as big as this pandemic and how it has impacted not only the practice of law but every aspect of the world has been a bit of a harrowing experience. While I am concerned and perhaps a bit unsettled as to how the next few months are going to go, I do look forward to seeing how Florida comes back together.